“Too many chiefs not enough indians. ”

I have been working at Total Wine & More full-time (more than 3 years)

Pros

Wine education and developing customer relationships. I love helping our customers discover new wines or finding a different wine to enjoy. Learning and talking about wine is my passion.

Cons

Unrealistic company policies.

Inadequate staffing. One or two wine associates to cover 25,000sq ft of retail space, plus work merchandise (because there are no merchandisers) plus perform other daily tasks and maintain a high percentage of winery direct sales...and effectively help customers, is completely unrealistic.

Store managers sit in front office, hide away in the classroom or receiving because they are on "project hours" and cannot be bothered. This is very frustrating to team members who feel overworked and physically exhausted. There are many times associates are on the brink of quitting and /or very frustrated over the lack of support from management.

Management on every level seems to be out of touch with how their team members are feeling about their job.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Listen to your employees. We are the key to your success. We want to meet our store goals as much as you do. Be in tune with what it means to be a TEAM.

Growing company with some good employees; some of the stores have congenial employee atmospheres despite the hard work and low pay

Cons

Micromanagement; authoritarian; abusive treatment of employees; obsession with money often creates "penny-wise pound foolish" decision making; no bonuses, profit-sharing or equity participation (owners do not believe in sharing in the company's huge financial success). If you are considering working here, turn around and run (don't walk) away.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Go public so that management will be accountable to all of the company's constituencies

I have been working at Total Wine & More full-time (more than 3 years)

Pros

The free wine doesn't even matter anymore...... I am losing my family and have lost my personal life over this job.

Cons

Not enough people or hours to perform duties or treat customers with proper attention. How can one associate service a 25k sales floor, stock shelves, help customers and answer phones?

There is never a sense of accomplishment after a hard days work. This means a 10-12 hour shift with one 30 min break. Management always hangs a threat over your head to do more with less,while office brass brags about increased profit levels and growth.

Everywhere it reeks of penny wise and pound foolish. I have had customers make sympathetic comments to myself and others. Benefits are nil, a meager 401k match, (if you can even afford to contribute), no paid sick time, holidays are only paid IF you work them.......Have you ever heard of a company with an unpaid Christmas day? I have lived it.

It's all about the bait and switch sales model, with a berating by management if the customer cannot be convinced not to purchase and advertised item. Sales quotas are tracked daily, and god forbid a customer purchases what we advertise to reel them in in large quantities.

Management has no spine to speak up the ladder for more hours or better treatment so we can service the customer and perform our tasks in less than a frenzy.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

You are training very good sales people, and many of us will be valued by other employers for our skills. It is a shame that you do not see that we are human beings and deserve to be treated better.